Coco’s Celebrates 8 Years of Helping Playa’s Cats and Dogs

Mark your calendars! On April 1, 2017 Coco’s Animal Welfare is hosting its 8th Anniversary Cocktail Party in Playa del Carmen. There will be live music, a raffle, and a live and online auction. This is a fantastic opportunity to come out and help support this wonderful local non-profit.

Coco’s Animal Welfare is a non-profit organization dedicated to humanely reducing and controlling cat and dog populations in Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya through their permanent clinic facility and mobile spay and neuter clinics throughout the region. Low cost or free sterilization is provided for pets, street dogs and cats, and animals rescued by local rescue groups.

Coco’s was started by Laura Raikes in 2009. After moving to Mexico, Laura’s cat, Coco, was run over, as many of the drivers in Mexico see cats as a pest and make no attempt to avoid them if they see them on the road. Laura decided she wanted to help address the problem of too many stray cats-which leads them to be cruelly treated. She began rescuing kittens and spaying/neutering feral cats and Coco’s Cat Rescue (now Coco's Animal Welfare) was created.

Since the organization was founded eight years ago, Coco’s has spayed and neutered over 23,000 animals, helping to greatly reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs in Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya. Some of their programs include regular spay/neuter clinics, kitten support, cat cafes at hotels and resorts, rescue and adoption programs, and community outreach.

This year’s anniversary cocktail party and live auction is taking place April 1, 2017 at the Fiesta Inn in downtown Playa del Carmen. The cocktail party starts at 8pm and tickets cost $200 pesos presale or $250 pesos at the door. You can buy your tickets ahead of time at Coco’s Animal Welfare or Mom’s Bar. With your ticket you will be entered into a raffle to win a kindle fire tablet and treated to two complimentary cocktails and canapés at the event.

All proceeds from this event will help Coco’s Animal Welfare continue their important work helping cats and dogs in the community. The online auction will run from April 3-13, 2017.

Laura Nazimiec moved to Cancun from Philadelphia. A two-week language and culture immersion program in Guatemala led to a year of backpacking in Latin America and ultimately the decision to live abroad. After moving to Mexico, Laura turned her passion for travel into her career as a blogger and social media manager for BuyPlaya Real Estate Advisors. In her free time, she enjoys running and yoga, and she also runs the website FitCancun.com. You can follow her on Twitter @FitCancun